Speaking of annoying LEDs, I remember a couple of my phones had, in addition to the notification LED, a network status LED. This would constantly blink on and off just to indicate that you had service. It was really distracting in the car at night.

My notebook's got something like that. It has a very small but incredibly bright LED light for wifi. I think it's there just to show wifi is available because it's on whether you got wifi switched on or not and it also doesn't matter if you've got a connection or not. Very annoying when you use your notebook in bed to watch movies! Again my trusty roll of electrical tape came to my rescue.

Seriously. If I'm watching television ... I probably know that it's on. And I don't need a bright blue light right next to the picture.

Actually that LED on the TV has some use for me. When I click the “on” button on the remote there is a three or four second delay before anything appears on the screen, so if I didn’t have the LED, I’d have to wait for those three or four seconds to tell it the TV actually came on.

That's where it was in the '56 Chevy that I learned to drive in, and where it stayed for years. In fact, I really can't remember when it was moved to the steering column. I'm too used to the dimmer switch being on the handlebar... but I remember when there was an 'on-off' switch for bike headlights...

All that talk about LED clocks made me think of mine. Time to change it. Tonight old father time has to give me back that hour he stole from me last October. They sure don't make stuff like they used to. Being coloured blind I went from store to store looking for a digital LED clock that wasn't red so I could read the darn thing. It was a difficult task in 1973. But I found it and it's still going despite being tossed across the room when I woke up on the wrong side of the bed occasionally.

That's where it was in the '56 Chevy that I learned to drive in, and where it stayed for years. In fact, I really can't remember when it was moved to the steering column. I'm too used to the dimmer switch being on the handlebar... but I remember when there was an 'on-off' switch for bike headlights...

Stitchawl

My first "new" car, an '81 Ford EXP, had the dimmer on the steering column. But it was based on the Escort, so it had been up there a while. I wouldn't mind if it was still on the floor.

When I was very young I encountered an old (even then) car with the starter switch on the floor.

So do I, it was back in the '60s or early '70s here and it was my parents' car. I wish they'd put it back there. When driving at night I'd rather find a foot pedal and keep both hands firmly on the wheel. Does that count as a rant?

Here's one for you: Why can I make a perfect looking multiple-page PDF with a FREE app on my smartphone, but can't do it on a $600 all-in-one printer? Even my all-in-one at home will only make a one page PDF file.

Speaking of printers, the local ant colony decided to set up a nursery in my multifunction printer, rendering at least the drum inoperable. At this point I’m not sure if it’s just the drum unit, or if there is more unseen damage. I’m almost afraid to buy a $100 US drum unit, only to find that the whole printer is basically scrap plastic.

I had a mouse set up house in my printer at work. They are attracted to warm objects during the winter.

A couple of years ago we had a mouse die inside our Pitney Bowes postage meter. When we called out the repairman, he thought we were either kidding or pulling his leg ... until we shone the flashlight inside the meter .... then I thought he was going to faint ...

Speaking of printers, the local ant colony decided to set up a nursery in my multifunction printer, rendering at least the drum inoperable. At this point I’m not sure if it’s just the drum unit, or if there is more unseen damage. I’m almost afraid to buy a $100 US drum unit, only to find that the whole printer is basically scrap plastic.

Not sure about where you are, but multi-function printers are so cheap here that you'd be better off just buying a new one. They regain their money through the printer ink, which is ridiculously overpriced.

Not sure about where you are, but multi-function printers are so cheap here that you'd be better off just buying a new one. They regain their money through the printer ink, which is ridiculously overpriced.

This one is a wiz bang buggah with all the bells and whistles. It cost $400 at COSTCO and has a MSRP of nearly $600. I bought it mostly because consumable costs are much lower than the “Gillette” sales model ones, and expected to recover the high initial cost in much lower reoccurring costs.

This one is a wiz bang buggah with all the bells and whistles. It cost $400 at COSTCO and has a MSRP of nearly $600. I bought it mostly because consumable costs are much lower than the “Gillette” sales model ones, and expected to recover the high initial cost in much lower reoccurring costs.

Sigh, the attack of the killer ants blew that idea up!

Can you put the printer in an enclosed box (or trash bag) along with a piece of sticky wet candy ..... and then see if any ants come OUT of the printer?

Also, perhaps take the printer WITH you to buy the replacement cartridge. Test out the demo model's cartridge to see if your printer will print at all.